[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 144 (Tuesday, July 28, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 44864-44868]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-18220]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52


[EPA-R10-OAR-2015-0322; FRL-9931-13-Region 10] Approval and 
Promulgation of State Implementation Plans: Oregon: Grants Pass Carbon 
Monoxide Limited Maintenance Plan

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct 
final action to approve a carbon monoxide Limited Maintenance Plan 
(LMP) for Grants Pass, submitted by the State of Oregon on April 22, 
2015 as a revision to its State Implementation Plan (SIP). In 
accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA), the EPA is 
approving this SIP revision because it demonstrates that Grants Pass 
will continue to meet the carbon monoxide National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards (NAAQS) for a second 10-year period beyond re-designation, 
through 2025.

DATES: This rule is effective on September 28, 2015, without further 
notice, unless the EPA receives adverse comment by August 27, 2015. If 
the EPA receives adverse comment, we will publish a timely withdrawal 
in the Federal Register informing the public that the rule will not 
take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R10-
OAR-2015-0322, by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov: 
Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected].
     Mail: Lucy Edmondson, EPA Region 10, Office of Air, Waste 
and Toxics, AWT-150, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Suite 900, Seattle, WA 98101.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: EPA Region 10, 1200 Sixth Avenue, 
Suite 900, Seattle, WA 98101. Attention: Lucy Edmondson, Office of Air, 
Waste and Toxics, AWT-150. Such deliveries are only accepted during 
normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for 
deliveries of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R10-OAR-
2015-0322. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or withdrawn. The 
EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the 
public docket without change and may be made available online at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, 
unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to 
be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov or 
email. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous 
access'' system, which means the EPA will not know your identity or 
contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. 
If you send an email comment directly to the EPA without going through 
http://www.regulations.gov, your email address will be automatically 
captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the 
public docket and made available on the Internet. If you submit an 
electronic comment, the EPA recommends that you include your name and 
other contact information in the body of your comment and with any disk 
or CD-ROM you submit. If the EPA cannot read your comment due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, the 
EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should 
avoid the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be 
free of any defects or viruses.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet and will be 
publicly available only in hard copy. Publicly available docket 
materials are available either electronically in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy during normal business hours at the 
Office of Air, Waste and Toxics, EPA Region 10, 1200 Sixth Avenue, 
Seattle, WA 98101.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lucy Edmondson at (360) 753-9082, 
[email protected], or the above EPA, Region 10 address.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document wherever ``we'', 
``us'' or ``our'' is used, it is intended to refer to the EPA. 
Information is organized as follows:

Table of Contents

I. This Action
II. Background
III. Public and Stakeholder Involvement in Rulemaking Process
IV. Evaluation of Oregon's Submittal
V. Transportation and General Conformity

[[Page 44865]]

VI. Final Action
VII. Oregon Notice Provision
VIII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. This Action

    The EPA is taking direct final action to approve the carbon 
monoxide (CO) LMP for Grants Pass, Oregon. The Oregon Department of 
Environmental Quality (ODEQ) submitted this plan as a SIP revision, on 
April 22, 2015. This CO LMP is designed to keep Grants Pass in 
attainment with the CO standard for a second 10-year period beyond re-
designation, through 2025.

II. Background

    Under Section 107(d)(1)(c) of the CAA, each CO area designated 
nonattainment prior to enactment of the 1990 Amendments, such as Grants 
Pass, was designated nonattainment by operation of law upon enactment 
of the 1990 Amendments. Under section 186(a) of the CAA, each CO area 
designated nonattainment under section 107(d) was also classified by 
operation of law as either ``moderate'' or ``serious'' depending on the 
severity of the area's air quality problem. CO areas with design values 
between 9.1 and 16.4 parts per million (ppm), such as Grants Pass, were 
classified as moderate. These nonattainment designations and 
classifications were codified in 40 CFR part 81. (56 FR 56694) 
(November 6, 1991).
    In August 2000, the EPA approved the first maintenance plan 
designed to maintain compliance with the CO standard in Grants Pass, OR 
through the year 2015 (see 65 FR 52932, August 31, 2000). While the 
central business district represented the maintenance area, the EPA 
considered the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) to be a more representative 
area of influence for carbon monoxide emissions, and the 1993 emission 
inventory was prepared for the UGB. In addition to approving ODEQ's 
maintenance plan for the area, the EPA also approved ODEQ's request to 
redesignate the Grants Pass area to attainment of the CO standard (see 
65 FR 52932, August 31, 2000). On November 5, 1999, Oregon submitted a 
complete rule renumbering and relabeling package to EPA for approval in 
the SIP. On January 22, 2003, EPA approved the recodified version of 
Oregon's rules to remove and replace the outdated numbering system (68 
FR 2891).
    Per CAA section 175A(b), Oregon's current SIP submittal provides a 
second 10-year CO maintenance plan for Grants Pass that will apply 
until 2025, and fulfill the final planning requirements under the CAA. 
In addition, the plan is consistent with the elements of a LMP as 
outlined in an EPA October 6, 1995 memorandum from Joseph Paisie, the 
Group Leader of the Integrated Policy and Strategies Group, titled, 
``Limited Maintenance Plan Option for Nonclassifiable CO Nonattainment 
Areas'' (LMP Option). To qualify for the LMP Option, the CO design 
value for an area, based on the eight consecutive quarters (two years 
of data) used to demonstrate attainment, must be at or below 7.65 ppm 
(85 percent of the CO NAAQS). In addition, the control measures from 
the first CO maintenance plan must remain in place and unchanged. The 
primary control measure has been the emission standards for new motor 
vehicles under the Federal Motor Vehicle Control Program. Other control 
measures have been the New Source Review Program and several 
residential woodsmoke emission reduction efforts. The EPA has 
determined that the LMP Option for CO is also available to all states 
as part of the CAA 175A(b) update to the maintenance plans, regardless 
of the original nonattainment classification, or lack thereof. Thus, 
the EPA finds that Grants Pass qualifies for the LMP.

III. Public and Stakeholder Involvement in Rulemaking Process

    Section 110(a)(2) of the CAA requires that each SIP revision offer 
a reasonable opportunity for notice and public hearing. This must occur 
prior to the revision being submitted by the State to the EPA. The 
State provided notice and an opportunity for public comment from 
December 16, 2014 until January 26, 2015, with no comments received. 
ODEQ also held a public hearing on January 22, 2015 in Grants Pass. 
This SIP revision was submitted by the Governor's designee and was 
received by the EPA on April 22, 2015. The EPA has evaluated ODEQ's 
submittal and determined that the State met the requirements for 
reasonable notice and public hearing under section 110(a)(2) of the 
CAA.

IV. Evaluation of Oregon's Submittal

    The EPA has reviewed Oregon's SIP submittal for Grants Pass. The 
following is a summary of the requirements for a LMP and the EPA's 
evaluation of how each requirement has been met by the SIP submittal.

A. Base Year Emissions Inventory

    The maintenance plan must contain an attainment year emissions 
inventory to identify a level of CO emissions in the area that is 
sufficient to attain the CO NAAQS. The April 22, 2015 SIP submittal 
contains a summary of the CO emissions inventory for Grants Pass for 
the base year 2005. This summary is based on the Grants Pass Inventory 
Preparation and Quality Assurance Plan for the Grants Pass Urban Growth 
Boundary Limited Carbon Monoxide Maintenance Plan, adopted March 2014.
    Historically, exceedances of the CO standard in Grants Pass have 
occurred during the winter months, when cooler temperatures contribute 
to incomplete combustion, and when CO emissions are trapped near the 
ground by atmospheric inversions. The UGB was used for the initial 1993 
emissions inventory, since it was more representative of the area of 
influence for carbon monoxide emissions, and used again for the 2005 
emission inventory in this LMP. Sources of carbon monoxide in Grants 
Pass include industry, motor vehicles, non-road mobile sources, (e.g., 
construction equipment, recreational vehicles, lawn and garden 
equipment, and area sources (e.g., outdoor burning, woodstoves, 
fireplaces, and wildfires). The CO season is defined as three 
consecutive months--December 1 through the end of February. As such, 
season day emissions in addition to annual emissions are included in 
the inventory. The unit of measure for annual emissions is in tons per 
year (tpy), while the unit of measure for season day emissions is in 
pounds per day (lb/day). In addition, the county-wide emissions 
inventory data is spatially allocated to the Grants Pass UGB, and to 
buffers around the UGB, depending on emissions category.
    Because violations of the CO NAAQS are most likely to occur on 
winter weekdays, the inventory prepared is for a ``typical winter 
day''. The table below shows the estimated tons of CO emitted per 
winter day by source category for the 2005 base year.

        2005 Emissions Inventory, Main Source Category Subtotals
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           CO emissions
                  Main source category                      pounds per
                                                            winter day
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stationary Point Sources................................           1,202
Onroad Mobile Sources...................................          58,120
Non-road Mobile Sources.................................           6,289
Stationary Area Sources.................................          22,244
                                                         ---------------
    Total...............................................          87,855
------------------------------------------------------------------------

B. Demonstration of Maintenance

    The CO NAAQS is attained when the annual second highest 8-hour 
average CO concentration for an area does not exceed a concentration of 
9.0 ppm. The last monitored violation of the CO

[[Page 44866]]

NAAQS in Grants Pass occurred in 1990, and CO levels have been steadily 
in decline.
    For areas using the LMP Option, the maintenance plan demonstration 
requirement is considered to be satisfied when the second highest 8-
hour CO concentration is at or below 7.65 ppm (85 percent of the CO 
NAAQS) for 8 consecutive quarters. The current 8-hour CO Design Value 
for Grants Pass is 4.0 ppm based on the two most recent years of data 
(2004-2005), which is significantly below the LMP Option requirement of 
7.65 ppm. Therefore, the State has demonstrated that Grants Pass 
qualifies for the LMP Option.
    With the LMP Option, there is no requirement to project emissions 
of air quality over the upcoming maintenance period. The EPA believes 
that if the area begins the maintenance period at, or below, 85 percent 
of the level of the CO 8-hour NAAQS, the applicability of prevention of 
significant deterioration requirements, the control measures already in 
the SIP, and Federal control measures already in place will provide 
adequate assurance of maintenance over the 10-year maintenance period.

C. Monitoring Network and Verification of Continued Attainment

    Monitored CO levels in the Grants Pass UGB steadily declined since 
monitoring began in the area in 1980. CO levels have declined 
significantly across the nation through motor vehicle emissions 
controls and fleet turnover to newer, cleaner vehicle models. As CO 
levels dropped and stayed low, Oregon requested to remove the Grants 
Pass CO monitor in 2006, and the EPA approved the request on October 
19, 2006. ODEQ now uses an alternate method of verifying continued 
attainment with the CO standard.
    ODEQ calculates CO emissions every three years as part of the 
Statewide Emissions Inventory and submits the data to the EPA for 
inclusion in the National Emissions Inventory (NEI). ODEQ commits to 
review the NEI estimates to identify any increases over the 2005 
emission levels and source categories, and report on them in the annual 
network plan for the applicable year. Since on-road motor vehicles are 
the predominant source of carbon monoxide in Grants Pass (about 70%), 
this source category will be the primary focus of this review. ODEQ 
will annually calculate CO emissions and evaluate any increase in CO 
emissions to confirm it is not due to a change in emission calculation 
methodology, an exceptional event, or other factor not representative 
of an actual emissions increase. Recognizing there could be a minor, 
insignificant emissions increase, for the purposes of triggering the 
Contingency Plan described below, an increase of five percent in either 
the total annual or season day emissions, or in the on-road mobile 
source category, represents a ``significant'' emission increase.

D. Contingency Plan

    Section 175A(d) of the CAA requires that a maintenance plan include 
contingency provisions necessary to ensure prompt correction of any 
violations of the standard that may occur. In its April 22, 2015 
submittal, the State of Oregon included the following contingency 
measures for this LMP:
    1. If ODEQ's three-year periodic review of CO emissions shows a 
significant increase in emissions, as described in Section 8 of this 
plan, ODEQ will then reestablish ambient CO monitoring in Grants Pass.
    2. If the highest measured 8-hour CO concentration in a given year 
in Grants Pass exceeds the LMP eligibility level of 7.65 ppm (85 
percent of the 8-hr standard), ODEQ will evaluate the cause of the CO 
increase. Within six months of the validated 7.65 ppm CO concentration, 
ODEQ will determine a schedule of selected strategies to either prevent 
or correct any violation of the 8-hour CO standard. The contingency 
strategies that will be considered include, but are not limited to:

 Improvements to parking and traffic circulation
 Aggressive signal retiming program
 Funding for transit
 Implementation of bicycle and pedestrian networks.

    ODEQ (and the advisory group if needed) may also conduct further 
evaluation, to determine if other strategies are necessary.
    3. If a violation of the CO standard occurs, in addition to step 
two above, ODEQ will replace the Best Available Control Technology 
(BACT) requirement for new and modified stationary sources with the 
Lowest Achievable Emission Rate (LAER) technology, and reinstate the 
requirement to offset any new CO emissions. Additional CO emission 
reduction measures will be considered, as needed.

V. Transportation and General Conformity

    Federal transportation conformity rules (40 CFR parts 51 and 93) 
and general conformity rules (58 FR 63214, November 30, 1993) continue 
to apply under a LMP. However, as noted in the LMP Option memo, these 
requirements are greatly simplified. An area under a LMP can 
demonstrate conformity without submitting an emissions budget, and as a 
result, emissions do not need to be capped nor a regional emissions 
analysis (including modeling) conducted. Grants Pass is currently 
meeting the requirements of 40 CFR parts 51 and 93.
    In the June 24, 2015 adequacy finding for the Grants Pass CO LMP, 
the EPA determined that Grants Pass has met the criteria to be exempt 
from regional emissions analysis for CO. However, other transportation 
conformity requirements such as consultation, transportation control 
measures, and project level conformity requirements would continue to 
apply to the area. With approval of the LMP, the area continues to be 
exempt from performing a regional emissions analysis, but must meet 
project-level conformity analyses as well as the transportation 
conformity criteria mentioned above.

VI. Final Action

    In accordance with the requirements of the CAA, the EPA is 
approving the CO LMP for Grants Pass, Oregon submitted by the State of 
Oregon on April 22, 2015 as a revision to the Oregon SIP. The State has 
adequately demonstrated that Grants Pass will maintain the CO NAAQS and 
meet the requirements of a LMP through the second 10-year maintenance 
period through 2025.
    The EPA is publishing this action without prior proposal because 
the EPA views this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates no 
adverse comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this 
Federal Register publication, the EPA is publishing a separate document 
that will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision should 
adverse comments be filed. This rule will be effective September 28, 
2015 without further notice unless the EPA receives adverse comments by 
August 27, 2015. If the EPA receives such comments, then the EPA will 
publish a timely withdrawal of the direct final rule informing the 
public that the rule will not take effect. All public comments received 
will then be addressed in a subsequent final rule based on the proposed 
rule. The EPA will not institute a second comment period on this rule. 
Any parties interested in commenting on this rule should do so at this 
time. If no such comments are received, the public is advised that this 
rule will be effective on September 28, 2015 and no further action will 
be taken on the proposed rule.

[[Page 44867]]

VII. Oregon Notice Provision

    Oregon Revised Statute 468.126, prohibits ODEQ from imposing a 
penalty for violation of an air, water or solid waste permit, unless 
the source has been provided five days advanced written notice of the 
violation, and has not come into compliance or submitted a compliance 
schedule within that five-day period. By its terms, the statute does 
not apply to Oregon's Title V program or to any program if application 
of the notice provision would disqualify the program from Federal 
delegation. Oregon has previously confirmed that, because application 
of the notice provision would preclude EPA approval of the Oregon SIP, 
no advance notice is required for violation of SIP requirements.

VIII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP 
submission that complies with the provisions of the CAA and applicable 
Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in 
reviewing SIP submissions, the EPA's role is to approve State choices, 
provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. Accordingly, this 
action merely approves State law as meeting Federal requirements and 
does not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by State 
law. For that reason, this action:
     Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' subject to 
review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Orders 
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 
2011);
     does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
     is certified as not having a significant economic impact 
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
     does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or 
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
     does not have Federalism implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
     is not an economically significant regulatory action based 
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997);
     is not a significant regulatory action subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
     is not subject to requirements of Section 12(d) of the 
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 
note) because this action does not involve technical standards; and
     does not provide the EPA with the discretionary authority 
to address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or 
environmental effects, using practicable and legally permissible 
methods, under Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
    The SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian reservation land or 
in any other area where the EPA or an Indian tribe has demonstrated 
that a tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian country, the 
rule does not have tribal implications and will not impose substantial 
direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law as specified 
by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
    The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the 
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally 
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating 
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule, 
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the 
United States. The EPA will submit a report containing this action and 
other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of 
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior 
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot 
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal 
Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 
804(2).
    Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by September 28, 2015. Filing a petition for 
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect 
the finality of this action for the purposes of judicial review, nor 
does it extend the time within which a petition for judicial review may 
be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such rule or 
action. Parties with objections to this direct final rule are 
encouraged to file a comment in response to the parallel notice of 
proposed rulemaking for this action published in the proposed rules 
section of the Federal Register, rather than file an immediate petition 
for judicial review of this direct final rule, so that the EPA can 
withdraw this direct final rule and address the comment in the proposed 
rulemaking. This action may not be challenged later in proceedings to 
enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: July 8, 2015.
Dennis J. McLerran,
Regional Administrator, Region 10.

    40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:

PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

0
1. The authority citation for Part 52 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

Subpart MM--Oregon

0
2. Section 52.1970, paragraph (e), the table entitled ``State of Oregon 
Air Quality Control Program'' is amended by adding an entry after the 
existing entries under ``Section 4'' to read as follows:


Sec.  52.1970  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *

                                   State of Oregon Air Quality Control Program
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               State
          SIP citation                Title/subject       effective date  EPA approval date      Explanation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
Section 4
 

[[Page 44868]]

 
                                                  * * * * * * *
                                 Grants Pass Second 10-        4/16/2015  7/28/2015,         ...................
                                  Year Carbon Monoxide                     [Insert Federal
                                  Limited Maintenance                      Register
                                  Plan.                                    citation].
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2015-18220 Filed 7-27-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P